Not Fit For A Lady
by coyotedreamer
Summary: This is a story about a female bounty hunter who turns Ben Cartwright's life upside down.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

It was a very dark and extremely stormy night. A flash of lightning and a clap of thunder caused Ben Cartwright to look up from the paper he was reading.

'It's about time,' he thought to himself. 'It's been showing signs that we were going to have a storm.'

He thought about his neighbors and, of course, his cattle. Ben checked his pocket watch, hoping that his sons would be home for supper.

Just then Hop Sing came into the living room.

"Mr. Cartwright. Hop Sing hopes that young Cartwrights come home soon."

"Don't worry Hop Sing. Hoss'll make sure that everyone is home for supper on time. Even if he has to drag them home, himself,' said Ben, smiling at Hop Sing, who just shook his head and headed back to the kitchen.

Just then the door opened and three soaking wet men walked in.

"Good to see you, boys," said Ben, to his sons.

"Pa, it sure is bad out there," said Hoss, taking off his coat, gunbelt and hat.

Ben smiled at his sons.

"Why don't you all go up and change? Supper'll be ready shortly."

Adam, Hoss and Little Joe just nodded and headed up to their rooms to get changed. After a bit they came down feeling a lot drier. Everyone sat down for supper.

"There was no mail today Pa," said Adam, as he ate some potato.

"Do you think that you'll get the land?" asked Little Joe.

"I hope so, Little Joe, I really hope so," said Ben. "Michael said it could take awhile, so we'll have t wait."

He took a drink of coffee.

"It sure would be good to have that lake for our cattle, Pa," said Hoss, reaching for another piece of chicken.

"Yes, Hoss, it would be good to get that lake, but as I said we'll have to wait and see."\

With that, they continued to eat their supper and the talk changed to other things.

Adam told Ben about some riders he'd heard of, passing through Virginia City.

Later that night, Ben was reading in his chair, while Hoss, Adam and Little Joe were playing cards.

'I wonder who those riders are and where they are going?" thought Ben to himself, as he watched his sons. Ben knew that he may never know that answer to his question. But, then again, one never knows what's going to happen, or who they're going to meet.

Meanwhile, some riders were stopped atop of a large hill, looking down on some land.

"So what do you think? Beautiful, yes?" said one of the riders.

"It's barren, there's nothing there," one of the riders replied.

"Of course there isn't anything there, yet. It's got to be built," the first rider replied. "But can't you see it? The house there, and over there the barn and right there the bunk house."

The rest of the riders just shook their heads.

"Look sis, this is a stupid idea," said one of them to his sister.

"Why? Out here I can come and go without anyone being nosey about my comings and goings," the girl said to her brother.

She looked at everyone else.

"Do you all feel the same as Nathan, here? she said, pointing at her older brother.

"Nope, we'll go where you do, ma'am," said one of the riders.

The female rider smiled, as she knew that the ranch hand spoke the truth.

"All right, fellas, let's head into town and get some rooms and some rest. We have a few, very busy days ahead of us."

With that, the female rider started out for town.

"Cally, wait a second," said Nathan to his sister.

Cally stopped and looked at her brother.

"When's Rory, Toby and James bringing up the horses and cattle?" asked Nathan, referring to his younger, but older brothers.

"By the end of this month, or the middle of next month," was the reply.

With that, the riders headed off towards town, to rest from their long journey.

This is my first Bonanza Fic. Please let me know how you enjoyed the prologue.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1

(4 months later)

Ben was anxious for Adam to return from Virginia City with the mail. Hoss and Little Joe knew that their father was waiting for an important letter about some land he wished to buy. Little Joe and Hoss watched Ben as he looked over some papers on his desk.

"Pa, do you think you got the land?" asked Hoss.

Ben looked up at his middle son.

"I hope so Hoss, I hope so. That lake is an important supply of water for our cattle," Ben said, as he got up from behind the desk.

Just as he reached Hoss and Little Joe, Adam came in with the mail.

"Here's the letter you were waiting for, Pa," Adam said, as he handed the letter to Ben.

All three sons looked at their father, as he stared at the letter.

"Well, here goes nothing."

He opened the letter and read its contents.

"Damn. Damn it all to hell," Ben said as he re-read the letter.

His sons looked at him, not able to recall the last time they heard their father swear.

Adam was the first to come around.

"What's the matter, Pa? Didn't you get the land?"

"No Adam, I didn't get the land. It was brought four months ago by someone called Cally Greer."

Ben put the letter down on the living room table.

"We're sorry, Pa," said Little Joe, feeling really bad for his father.

"Maybe if we ask this Cally person real nice, maybe he'll share the lake with us," said Hoss.

Everyone looked at Hoss in amazement. He wasn't regarded as being the smartest, but he often came up with good ideas.

"That's a great idea, son. We'll visit this Cally Greer, after lunch, and talk to him about it," said Ben, smiling now, and feeling much better about it.

But Ben didn't know he was in for a complete shock when he first meets Cally Greer.

After lunch Ben, Adam, Hoss and Little Joe mounted their horses and headed off to meet the new owner.

'I wonder who this Cally is and what he will be like?" thought Adam, to himself, as they rode towards the land, which Ben had hoped to buy, to add to the Ponderosa.

It didn't take them long to get there.

A young man looked up and saw the four riders coming towards him.

'I wonder what they want,' thought the young man, as he put down his axe.

Ben and his sons stopped their horses, close by the young man.

"Can I help you, sir?" said the young man.

"I am Ben Cartwright of the Ponderosa, and these are my sons," said Ben.

"Nice to meet you," said the young man, nodding at the boys.

"We're looking for a Cally Greer. Can you tell us where we can find him?" Ben asked, without dismounting.

The young man nodded and turned towards some men who were working of the fence. He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "Hey Cally! There are some people here who want to talk to you."

The he turned towards Ben.

"Cally'll be here shortly."

But before Ben could say a word, something caught his eye. A young woman was walking towards him.

"What is it, Tye?" she addressed the young man.

Tyler smiled.

"These are the Cartwrights and they want to talk to you," then he left.

The shocked look on Ben's face said it all.

Ben had assumed that Cally was a man, but now he was confronted with a young woman, who didn't even look as old as his eldest son.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Cartwright?"

Ben was still in shock after discovering that Cally was a woman.

He tipped his hat.

"Ma'am, I am Ben Cartwright and these are my sons, Adam, Hoss and Little Joe.'

The boys tipped their hats, also.

"Nice to meet you." she said. "But you haven't answered my question. How can I help you?"

Ben noticed that Cally stood still and tall, like an Indian brave about t attack, but he pushed that thought aside.

"We would like to talk to you about maybe sharing your lake," said Ben getting straight to the reason for their visit.

Cally was impressed by this Ben Cartwright. She liked people who got straight t the point instead of going around what they really wanted to say.

"Now, why would I want to share my lake with you, Mr. Cartwright?"

Cally looked at Ben for a reaction.

Ben knew that this wasn't going to be easy.

"We have cattle that need the water in that lake," Ben said, watching Cally.

Adam, Hoss and Little Joe, who still couldn't believe that Cally Greer was a woman, listened to the conversation between their father and Cally, with interest.

"I, too, have cattle and horses, which need the lake," said Cally.

"The lake is big enough for both of us to share," said Ben, watching Cally.

"Well, let me think about what you said and I'll get back to you, as soon as possible," said Cally, smiling at the Cartwrights.

"That's all I ask."

And Ben and the boys tipped their hats and rode away.

Cally just smiled and shook her head.

At that moment, another man, who looked like an older version of Tyler, came over to Cally.

"Who were those men, and what the hell did they want?" he asked, wondering why his young sister was talking to them.

"They're the Cartwrights and they're my neighbours," Cally said.

"But what did they want?" said Nathan.

"That's none of your business, but I'll tell you anyway. They want to share my lake to water their cattle."

Cally walked off to where she'd been working. But Nathan Greer wasn't going to let his sister off that easily. He grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him.

"And you're NOT going to do it, right?" asked Nathan, getting angry.

"I told them I'd think about it. Before you say anything, big brother, first of all it's MY lake, not yours, and second they are MY neighbours. Third, if I do decide to share the lake, well that's my business and not yours. Besides there is a smaller lake on this land, as well as the large one. And I will be using it as a fishing spot. So back the hell off."

With that Cally left her big brother standing there with his mouth open, in shock, at his baby sister. Nathan went over to where some of his younger brothers were working. They knew he'd over stepped the line with Cally and got what he deserved. They would never do that to her, well maybe some of them would, but not all of them.

The Cartwrights rode home is silence. But while they were heading back to the Ponderosa, something was playing on Ben's mind. The thought has been on his mind since they left Cally Greer's place.

'I wonder why Cally was standing like an Indian brave?'

Ben knew this because of the Indians he had encountered, especially the Paiutes.

Adam knew something was on his father's mind. They arrived home just in time to get ready for supper. Adam looked at his father.

"Pa. Do you think she'll share the lake?"

Ben looked at his eldest son before answering. He sighed.

"I really don't know Adam. I really don't know."

With that Ben Cartwright walked into the house leaving his three sons looking at his back.

"Poor Pa. He really didn't expect this Cally Greer to be a woman." Little Joe commented.

"She sure was pretty. And really small. But still very pretty." Hoss commented to Little Joe.

"I really don't think Pa would appreciate us talking about Cally that way. And I know she wouldn't be at all happy to hear that talk," said Adam, as he went into the house.

Both Hoss and Little Joe knew that their brother Adam was right. They followed Adam inside and had a cup of coffee, before finishing off their work. Adam, Hoss and Little Joe left a few minutes later. They had to round up some cattle and brand them.

Ben was left alone with his thoughts.

'I hope that Miss Cally Greer will share the lake.'

Soon Adam, Hoss and Little Joe walked into the house.

Just then Hop Sing came out of the kitchen. "Supper be ready shortly." Then he went back into the kitchen.

All four Cartwrights went up to their rooms to get washed up for supper. They ate it and talked about other things than Cally Greer and the lake.

Meanwhile, Cally was eating her supper, quietly, by herself. It wasn't much, but then Cally never did eat much. She had a lot on her mind.

'Should I or shouldn't I share the lake with the Cartwrights? Hmmm.'

Cally thought to herself as she cleaned up what dishes she'd made.

'I'll really have to think about it some more.'

With that Cally went into her living room, grabbed a book and began to read until it was time for bed. Soon Cally headed up to bed, for tomorrow was going to be a busy day.

Meanwhile, back at the Ponderosa, Ben was in his den looking over his paperwork. He still couldn't get the image of how Cally was dressed, out of his mind.

'She wore her clothes, like a man would wear them. She looks like she does the work of a man, too.'

With that Ben got up from behind his desk and headed up to his room. Ben slipped into his nightshirt and crawled into his bed. He hoped that Cally would agree to share the lake with him.

'I have to go to Virginia City tomorrow, after breakfast. Maybe I can find out a little bit about Cally Greer.'

With that thought, Ben went to sleep, still hoping that Cally would share the lake with him.

Sorry that Chapter 1 is late. Please read and let me know how you like the story so far.


End file.
